What’s Social Media Got To Do With Marketing?

I was chatting with an associate yesterday who was telling me he felt like he was “missing it” when it came to social media marketing. He’s on LinkedIn but didn’t really understand the connection between all these social media/social networking sites and his business.

Here’s a quick primer for those of you who find yourselves equally confused.

Social Media Marketing Is Not Sales

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. is not an opportunity to close a sale. A good analogy would be a networking meeting or mixer. You are “seeing” people you already know, “meeting” their connections and having conversations on a variety of topics.

Social Media is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Pace yourself with your social media marketing efforts. For small businesses this is especially important since one person is likely doing a multitude of tasks already. Decide how much time you want to spend on participating each day/week; do that and no more.

Social Media Marketing Should Be Tracked

Online marketing allows even the little shops to track data like the big boys and girls. Keep an eye on your “reach”; the number of Facebook Fans, Twitter followers, LinkedIn Connections, retweets, inbound links (links from other sites to yours). Don’t get lost in the data, just look to see that these numbers are trending up over time. Look at your website analytics to see which sites are sending traffic your way. Your social networks will most likely bubble to the top if you’re an active participant.

Don’t be intimidated by social media. It can be a fun and rewarding way to expand your network, be a useful resource for others and over time drive traffic to your website and build your business.